region:u.s. east coast

U.S. judge scraps Trump order opening Arctic, Atlantic areas to oil leasing | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-trump-leases-idUSKCN1RB0FP

A federal judge in Alaska has overturned U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to open vast areas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans to oil and gas leasing.

The decision issued late Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason leaves intact President Barack Obama’s policies putting the Arctic’s Chukchi Sea, part of the Arctic’s Beaufort Sea and a large swath of Atlantic Ocean off the U.S. East Coast off-limits to oil leasing.

Trump’s attempt to undo Obama’s protections was “unlawful” and a violation of the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Gleason ruled. Presidents have the power under that law to withdraw areas from the national oil and gas leasing program, as Obama did, but only Congress has the power to add areas to the leasing program, she said.

Rafales à 180 km/h sur le paquebot Norwegian Escape en route du New Jersey aux Bermudes, au moins 8 passagers blessés débarqués en Floride.

Passengers Injured as Norwegian Escape Hit by ’100 Knot Wind Gust’ Off U.S. East Coast – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/norwegian-cruise-ship-100-knot-wind-gust

https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Norwegian_Escape_W716.jpg

Several passengers aboard the cruise ship Norwegian Escape were reported injured after freak gust of wind reportedly caused the ship to list as much of 45 degrees, causing chairs, tables and pretty much anything unsecured to go flying.

A statement from Norwegian posted to its Twitter account said the incident took place just before midnight on Sunday, March 3, when Norwegian Escape encountered what the cruise line said was an “unexpected weather in the form of a sudden, extreme gust of wind, estimated at 100 knots,” or 115 mph, as the ship was underway off the U.S. east coast.

Panic, chaos as wind gusts cause Norwegian cruise ship to lean
ABC News
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6CgKCH3C90

Replenishment Gone Wrong: U.S. Navy Cruiser and MSC Dry Cargo Ship Collide Off U.S. East Coast – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/replenishment-gone-wrong-u-s-navy-cruiser-and-msc-dry-cargo-ship-collide-o

https://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/100509-N-1082Z-003.jpg

A U.S. Navy guided-missile cruiser and a Military Sealift Command dry cargo ship collided Tuesday during an underway replenishment off the coast of Florida, the U.S. Navy has confirmed.

The Navy said no personnel were injured when the USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) made contact.

Both ships were able to safely operate after the incident.

“The ships had been conducting a replenishment-at-sea when the sterns touched at approximately 4 p.m. Eastern Standard time,” the Navy said in a statement.

“U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Military Sealift Command will thoroughly investigate this incident,” the statement added.

Damage will be assessed when the ships arrive in port.

The ships were conducting operations in conjunction with the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

Container Fire Reported On U.S.-Flagged Maersk Kensington in Gulf of Aden – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/container-fire-reported-on-us-flagged-maersk-kensington-in-gulf-of-aden

http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MAERSK_KENSINGTON.jpg

A fire has been reported in a below-deck container on board the U.S.-flag containership Maersk Kensington in the eastern Gulf of Aden, the second such incident to hit a Maersk Line vessel in recent weeks. 

All crew are safe and the fire is contained, Maersk Line has confirmed.
[…]
The incident is the second cargo fire on board a Maersk containership in as many weeks.

On March 6, Maersk Line’s 2017-built Maersk Honam suffered a devastating fire in its forward cargo holds while heading west in the Arabian Sea approximately 900 nautical southeast of Salalah, Oman. Tragically, five crew members lost their lives in the incident. The response to that incident is still on-going in the Arabian Sea.

The Maersk Honam, an ultra-large containership, is carrying a total of 7,860 containers, corresponding to 12,416 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent).
[…]
Maersk Kensington is currently at anchor outside the port of Salalah, and is getting assistance from shore. The vessel is carrying 3518 containers (corresponding to 5616 TEU). In case of cargo delays all impacted customers will be contacted directly.
[…]
In late February, another Maersk vessel, the Maersk Shanghai, lost 76 containers overboard during heavy weather off the U.S. East Coast. One of the containers lost at sea was reportedly carrying about 5,900 pounds of sulfuric acid.

Large Containership Loses About 70 Containers Overboard Off U.S. East Coast – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/containership-loses-about-70-containers-overboard-off-us-east-coast

http://gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MAERSK_SHANGHAI.jpg

A 10,000 TEU containership lost about 70 containers overboard on Saturday night while about 17 miles off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina.

The U.S. Coast Guard is warning mariners of navigation hazards.

The 324-meter Maersk Shanghai contacted USCG watchstanders at Sector North Carolina’s command center via VHF-FM marine radio channel 16 on Saturday evening notifying them that they lost approximately 70 to 73 cargo containers due to high winds and heavy seas.

The ship is sailing from Norfolk, Virginia to Charleston, South Carolina, according to AIS data.

The incident comes as a powerful nor’easter slammed the East Coast over the weekend, producing hurricane force winds and significant wave heights up in excess of 40 feet in the western Atlantic.

Siberian Gas by Way of London Rescues Chilly Boston - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-08/boston-imports-gas-from-u-k-site-that-got-first-siberian-cargo

Not many people had expected the U.S. to turn to Europe for natural gas this winter.

Yet the polar chill that gripped the U.S. East Coast this month, and sent spot prices to records, has led to a tanker loading a cargo of liquefied natural gas in the U.K. for Boston, some of which was likely produced by a project in Siberia targeted by U.S. financial curbs.

The Gaselys tanker is due to arrive in Boston on Jan. 22 after loading fuel from storage tanks at the U.K.’s Isle of Grain, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The vessel docked at Grain shortly after the terminal near London received the first cargo from the $27 billion Yamal LNG plant in Russia’s icy north. 

“Gas from anywhere is profitable into that northeastern U.S. gas market as prices are the highest in the world,” said Trevor Sikorski, head of natural gas, coal and carbon at Energy Aspects Ltd. in London.

Incroyable, mais vrai !

On notera que le Gaselys est un méthanier appartenant à Gazocéan (filiale d’Engie (80%) et NYK Line), sous pavillon français, construit aux Chantiers de l’Atlantique…

Tomahawk Launches Practiced by U.S. Before Trump Gave Go-Ahead - Bloomberg
▻https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-04-07/tomahawk-launches-practiced-by-u-s-before-trump-gave-go-ahead

The U.S. used the latest-model Tactical Tomahawks, which can be redirected in mid-flight, transmit images to commanders and loiter over a potential target area, according to accounts by U.S. military officials who briefed reporters or spoke in interviews. They asked not to be identified discussing operational details.
[…]
The fusillade of Tomahawks aimed at the Shayrat airfield was one of the options prepared by U.S. Central Command in about a day after Trump condemned the April 4 gas attack, on the assumption the White House might want to act fast to back up the president’s implied threat, one of the officials said. That proved correct when the administration formally requested that the Pentagon ready alternatives.

Once Trump gave the go-ahead order for the Tomahawk strike, the operation moved at a rapid pace. Shortly after 4:35 p.m. New York time on Thursday, Army General Joseph Votel, the head of Central Command, received a call from Marine Corps General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, telling him to execute the attack. Votel, who was at an event on the U.S. East Coast, passed the order on via a secure video link even before the White House’s written authorization, according to one of the officials.

The 59 missiles launched — a 60th malfunctioned — hit an equal number of targets at the Shayrat air field, which one of the military officials said had been associated with Syrian government chemical attacks since 2013.
[…]
The Navy says it’s buying the last 100 Tomahawks this year before ending production in favor of upgrades to the inventory and starting development on a successor “Next Generation Land Attack Weapon.”

Bon, c’est le tout dernier modèle (avec les options…) mais c’est quand même du déstockage avant remplacement.

Ship Photos of the Day - Real Viking Ship Completes North Atlantic Crossing - gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/ship-photos-of-the-day-real-viking-ship-completes-north-atlantic-crossing

https://i2.wp.com/gcaptain.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Draken_1-1.jpg

The world’s largest viking ship has arrived in North America after crossing the North Atlantic Ocean on a journey from its homeport in Haugesund, Norway.

The Viking ship, named Draken Harald Hårfagre, set sail from Norway with its approximately 32 crew members in late April and made stops in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, Canada, before making its way through the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Toronto for the Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes 2016 festival this weekend.

Future stops for the Viking ship include Chicago, Green Bay and Duluth, before heading to U.S. east coast with stops in New York City and finally Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut in October.

Harald Belle Chevelure
▻https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Ier_de_Norvège

Virginia, Ground Zero in Drilling Debate, to Learn Its Fate Soon - Bloomberg Politics
▻http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-03-14/virginia-ground-zero-in-drilling-debate-to-learn-its-fate-soon

http://assets.bwbx.io/images/iQ0gHKp3D1bQ/v2/-1x-1.jpg

From the shores of Savannah, Georgia, to the Beaufort, North Carolina beachfront, coastal communities in conservative southern states have locked arms in opposition to oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic waters lapping their shores.

A different story is playing out in Virginia, where Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe and both Democratic U.S. senators support nearby drilling which they say could deliver jobs, new business, and money to the state.

“Virginia is the battleground state,” said Athan Manuel, director of the lands protection program at the Sierra Club.

The Obama administration opened the door to a new generation of offshore drilling along the East Coast in 2015, when it released a draft plan for selling oil and gas leases in 104 million acres of the mid- and south-Atlantic. Now, as the administration prepares to release the next version of its 2017-2022 leasing proposal, the penultimate step before finalizing it later this year, a big question is whether Virginia’s coastline will remain up for grabs.

The answer could come as soon as this week.

The stakes are huge for Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and other companies whose U.S. offshore activity is largely confined to the Gulf of Mexico. The Interior Department has estimated that 3.3 billion barrels of oil and 31.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could be recovered from the Atlantic outer continental shelf, based on data from the 1970s and 1980s, when energy companies drilled 51 wells off the U.S. East Coast.
[…]
For Obama, the issue is tied to his environmental legacy, following a historic climate accord struck in Paris in December, a rule slashing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, and a halt in leasing coal on public land. “There is no way that opening these areas is going to be seen as anything other than a contradiction” of the president’s climate goals, said Franz Matzner, a senior adviser with the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund.

“If you open these offshore areas up for oil drilling, it’s telegraphing that you really don’t believe in our ability to achieve our climate goals,” Matzner said in an interview. “You’re saying in 20 or 30 years we will still be so stuck on fossil fuels that we can’t afford to take this oil off the table. If we can’t say no here, then we are in deep trouble.”